What Friends Are For
by XCountrySkiier03
Summary: Jamie is older now but he has retained his belief in the guardians and still considers Jack to be his best friend. Therefore, when Jack shows up in town feeling under the weather, Jamie takes it as his responsibility to care for his friend in his time of weakness.
1. Chapter 1

_Do not own Rise of the Guardians...It's late and this probably has a ton of errors but here she blows! A story with older Jamie but just friends with Jack! This is rated T for swearing! I didn't know Jamie's or Sophie's ages from the movie so I made them up. If they do have set ages I hope this doesn't bother anyone!_

_Happy reading!_

* * *

It had been 17 years since the guardians had risen to defeat Pitch. And 17 years later Jamie still believed. He had been 8 at the time of the unforgettable battle, his little sister, Sophie, 2. It was safe to say that both of them had grown into adulthood, but neither of them had lost their child like spark. It wasn't too often that one stumbled upon a 19 and 25 year old who still believed in myths like the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Clause.

Sophie was off at a University only an hour from Burgess studying marine biology, and Jamie, being a full grown man at this point, had flown from the nest. After graduating top of his class with a bachelors degree in nursing, he scored a sweet job in the Burgess Hospital in the ICU. Soon after this, his parents had encouraged him to get his own place. He found one, albeit not very far. The Bennett child now occupied a small one story house, which he rented for himself, just on the outskirts of town. It was not too far from the Burgess lake, in fact.

Other than these unavoidable changes of growing up, mostly everything had remained as it was. The seven kids of Burgess still found time in their separate lives to gather and reminisce on their childhood adventures. Jamie still wore puffy down vests and Sophie was still a klutz.

Jamie also had not changed too much in appearance from his 8 year old self. His hair was cut into the same messy style. His boyish features remained intact for the most part other than his more pronounced chin and less rounded face.

The largest difference in his appearance was caused by the uncanny growth spurt he had experienced just around the 10th grade. He towered over many at 6'4'', excluding some of the basket ball players at his alma mater. He had officially become the tallest person in his family, however. Sophie was tall also, reaching her final height at 5'8'', but she had nothing on him, as it should be.

Other things in his life had stayed the same as well. For example, he still had an unnatural obsession with, well, the unnatural. He still loved tracking big foot sightings, and would sit outside on clear nights looking for UFO's in the sky. He would swear on his life that he had spotted one once too. His favorite color was still blue, his favorite food was still soup, and his favorite season would always and forever be winter.

Not just because he loved the snow, but more importantly this was the season he would get to see his best friend and accomplice in crime and trouble making. Jack Frost.

He and Sophie still anticipated the first snow fall, as it usually meant Jack was in town, or at least on his way soon. When it was winter time in Burgess, Jack usually favored the area. Not only because it was kind of his home base, but because he would get to hang out with his human friends. Namely, two certain Bennett siblings.

Each year Jamie looked forward to that day when Jack would arrive. Even though he had made many friends in college, Jack would always be his number one bestie.

* * *

Jamie was riding home from a short shift at the hospital. He had been called in to cover for his coworker who had run into a family emergency. It was supposed to be the start of his four day vacation, but he didn't so much mind the extra shift and the extra cash that came with it. It had only been six hours after all. It was 11:30 a.m. and he still had the whole day ahead of him.

Jamie absentmindedly navigated his way out of the busy side of town and towards his humble home. The Burgess hospital was located about 20 minutes from where he lived, and most of his drive consisted of long backroads with suggested speed limits of 45. However, 65 was also acceptable on the roads ungoverned by police cars. Today, was a bit different though. He actually was driving the speed limit for once, as the town had gotten a small snow storm the night before. Plows never really did a great job on the bumpy back streets either.

It wasn't the first storm of the year, but it still gave Jamie hope that Jack was possibly in the area. It was nearly half way though January and he had seen hide nor hair of Jack yet, given it did usually take the winter boy a little while to stop by. Ever since his promotion to guardianship the frosty teen had become busier each year, granting snow days around the world.

He had a plethora of believers at this point. Jamie took pride in the fact that he had been the first. He was also pretty sure he was Jack's favorite, though the teen hesitated to admit it and tried to keep it on the down low.

Jamie was still about 15 minutes from his house and was driving through the mundane country side of Burgess. Either edge of the road was surrounded by large fields bordered by thick forests. Side roads cut through the fields randomly leading to who knows where. He had driven this same route for nearly a year now. It was no matter to Jamie though. Ever since he had installed an auxiliary cord and could hook his ipod up, the drive wasn't so bad.

"And I'm feeling liiiiiiiiike a suspect, but while I'm sick to my stomach without a gut check. My money's super tall, they call it success. Would you like to climb into my wallet? She said "Fuck yes!"" Jamie had his radio cranked up all the way. He bobbed his head goofily while pounding on his steering wheel to the beat.

Jamie always got into his music, singing and dancing like a nerd by himself while driving. He had earned himself more than a few odd looks at stop lights, but it was worth it.

"Cause I'm thirsty, and I drink slow, I hate Spider Man 2, James Franco," Jamie was not much of a rapper but he still liked to pretend. His music helped calm his road rage as well, which he shamefully suffered from. For example, because of his music, he wasn't going to pass the person driving 30 mph in front of him with his middle finger extended and horn blaring.

The road rage was not something anyone would expect to see in Jamie. Overall, he was the sweetest guy, known for holding doors and carrying grocery bags for old ladies going to their cars. Jamie couldn't place why he had such a thing against other drivers. He was certainly not proud of his unnecessary crassness behind the wheel.

Despite his musical distraction the person in front of him really was quite annoying. Every tiny pot hole caused their break lights to flare over cautiously.

Trying to ignore the car, and how it was slowly pissing him off, Jamie looked up into the clear sky.

It was then that Jamie spotted a small flying projectile in the left upper quadrant of his windshield. Jamie hunched forward in his seat to get a better look at the airborne objet. A huge smile spread across his face as he recognized the blue clad, white haired boy soaring over the fields.

"Jack!" Jamie said, as if the guardian could hear him. He laughed excitedly knowing his friend was in town. Slowly, however, Jamie began to notice something was a little off. Jack seemed to be flying particularly slow, which was unusual. Also, the winter spirit seemed to be losing height and jerking closer to the ground in random increments. Jamie let a small frown slip onto his face as he watched Jack. He turned his music down in concentration, barely keeping his eyes on the road.

Suddenly, out of no where, the winter guardian just dropped. Right out of the sky, he plummeted to the ground and into the snow covered field. Jamie gasped sharply at the action and then let out a yell as he realized the car in front of him had once again slowed. He slammed on his breaks, tires screeching as he barely missed the back bumper of the other car.

Taking no notice of his close call, he threw his car into reverse and hit the gas until he reached one of the small off shoot roads running perpendicular through the field. He cranked his car back into drive and swerved left without so much as a blinker.

He tried to trace in his mind where Jack had fallen and stopped when he thought he was close, sliding on the poorly plowed road as he decelerated too quickly.

"Shit!" Jamie cursed under his breath as he stepped out of his car and into a foot of snow. He was still wearing his pair of white sneakers and loose fitting hospital pants. The snow was easily finding its way into his socks.

Despite this, Jamie pushed aside the worry for his soon to be soggy shoes to focus on the concern he had for his friend. He had never seen Jack pull a stunt like this before. Especially when he thought no one was watching. There must be something seriously wrong.

The brown haired man, who was still in hospital scrubs, waded through the untouched snow. He swore again when he looked around and realized Jack must be buried somewhere in the mile wide field. This was just great. He changed his course slowly, thinking he had seen Jack fall closer to the tree line.

Only a moment later, to Jamie's relief, he spotted the teen propping himself up not too far from his current position. Jamie took it into a jog, panting as the snow provided sufficient resistance.

"Jack!" Jamie yelled to the white haired boy still seated in the snow. Finally he made it to Jack's side, breathing heavily.

"Hey!" Jack smiled up at Jamie as if nothing had happened. He did look a little more weathered than usual, but other than that it was as if he hadn't just fallen about ten stories.

"What the shit just happened? I saw you fall!" Jamie offered Jack a hand and pulled him up. Now that Jamie had grown to his full height, he was much taller than Jack and looked down on the small stature of the winter spirit. He was used to it though. Jack hadn't been taller than him since eighth grade.

Brushing himself off, again acting nonchalant, the white haired teen looked into Jamie's face with a scolding finger and said sternly, "Language," Jack proceeded to squat down sifting through the snow until his hand found the wooded staff he had dropped upon landing.

"Jack, seriously?" Jamie couldn't believe Jack's reaction. Clearly there was no covering up what had already been witnessed.

"It's nice to see you too, Jamie," Jack laughed shaking the remaining bits of snow out of his hoodie. Jamie did not take the bait however, and stayed in interrogator mode.

Jack rolled his eyes at this, "I just lost my balance and the wind dropped me. It happens once in a while, jeesh" Jack admitted. Jamie squinted down skeptically at Jack, a little suspicious of his answer. It seemed a little fishy to him.

"What? No hug?" Jack looked up at the taller male with bright eyes, again attempting to change the subject. He opened his arms in invitation. Jamie did realize this was their first meeting in almost a year. He had missed the little trouble maker.

"Aw, what the heck," Jamie said, losing his rough demeanor easily. He bent forward to give Jack a huge bear hug. It was a little weird how he had so easily surpassed Jack in size, but it wasn't so bad. He always won in wrestling matches now. As long as Jack didn't cheat with his winter hocus pocus.

"So I see you've been working," Jack gestured to Jamie's outfit after he had been released from the hug. Jamie wore a blue scrub top with white pants to match.

"Yeah, you caught me driving home from a shift," Jamie become excited suddenly, realizing that Jack had arrived exactly for his days off, "You actually have good timing for once! I don't work again until Tuesday, so I'm all yours till then!" Jamie clapped Jack on the back jovially.

"Hey! My timing is always good," Jack joked. The two always found it easy to sink into perfect roles as best friends as if no time had passed at all. Even though a year could be a long time, it never put a rift between Jack and Jamie.

"Meet me over at my place, It'll take me about ten minutes to get back if you want to come. I've got a lot to tell you about my year,"

"Alright, as long as these updates aren't any of your graphic hospital stories. I don't want to hear any more about projectile whatever," Jack waved his hand, not even wanting to mention what kind of bodily fluid Jamie had described on previous visits. Apparently there was a lot to see in the hospital. Jamie laughed at this and promised not to get too detailed if any stories did come up.

Shivering lightly, Jamie finally remembered the seeping liquid that was steadily saturating his socks. "Okay Jack I'll meet you over there" Jamie was about to turn to the car, when Jack suddenly lurched, nearly collapsing. Jamie's quick reflexes were the only thing that kept Jack from being face down in the snow for the second time that day.

"Jack?" Jamie asked, his concern that he had easily forgotten coming back with a vengeance. Said winter spirit had wriggled out of Jamie's catch and slowly stood himself up, relying on his staff heavily.

Jack was panting harshly. Jamie wondered why he had not noticed the deep circles under his friends eyes and pallor of his face moments before. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine," Jack lied poorly. Jamie now placed a gentle hand on Jack's shoulder

"No. There's definitely something up. I'm a medical professional Jack, and you think you're gonna get out of this?" Jack laughed weakly at Jamie. Still panting, Jack tried to make another excuse, always feeling uncomfortable when Jamie decided to play care taker. Jack felt _he_ was supposed to be the care taker. He was a fair share older than Jamie, give or take 300 years.

"I really am fine, Jamie. I'm just tired. Spreading winter joy, you know?" Jack shrugged and looked into Jamie's face to see if it had worked. Unfortunately Jamie gave Jack an unimpressed look.

"Not buying it, Jack. You're coming with me," Jamie gestured to his little navy Corolla parked half in the snow bank.

"What? In that thing? There's no way. If you think I'm getting in there," Jack trailed off at Jamie's set expression.

"I will use force, Jack." Jamie stated in finality.

"Ohhhhh no, I don't think so," Jack backed away shaking his head, stumbling slightly on weakened legs. Before he could get far, Jamie easily caught Jack by the wrist. It was a gentle grasp, however. Just because Jamie was threatening force didn't mean he would be rough with Jack. He didn't want to exacerbate whatever was plaguing the immortal teen.

"Come on Jamie, you know I don't like closed spaces," Jack gulped as he stared at the car, a metal trap of death.

"We can roll the windows down, now lets go before my feet fall off,"

"I'm not going to come quietly," Jack stood up a little straighter and pried his wrist away from Jamie. He folded his arms in defiance. This motion clearly did not agree with him though, as he instantly winced from some shock of pain. He hunched slightly in on himself, breathing in a shaky manner, as if the task hurt.

Annoyed at how childish Jack was being and the mounting concern that was overwhelming him, Jamie let out a sigh of exasperation.

"Okay Jack, if you can walk to the car by yourself I won't make you ride in it" Jamie had no intention of following through on this deal, but then again he didn't expect Jack would make it. His condition seemed to be worsening by the moment. It appeared that just standing needed some large amount of effort from the winter spirit.

Jamie knew he had won when Jack looked at him with furrowed eye brows. He quickly covered up his laps of defiance and nodded curtly, taking the deal.

Jamie watched closely as Jack used his staff as a crutch. After about the first two steps, Jamie was surprised that Jack was still on his feet. It didn't take much longer for Jamie's suspicions to come true though.

With only five feet of progress, Jack sunk down to one knee, his breathing harsh again. Jamie knelt to join him, placing a comforting hand on Jack's upper back.

"I'm just tired," Jack closed his eyes weakly. Jamie wasn't sure if Jack was trying to convince him, or himself. "Fine, you win." Jack glared at Jamie. He was clearly not happy, but he seemed too weak to protest anymore. Jamie was relieved he had seen the light, but worried about his easy defeat. That was not the Jack he knew.

"The ride won't be bad I promise," Jamie effortlessly draped one of Jack's arms over his shoulder and helped the winter guardian stand as they made their way out of the field.

"I ever tell you you're way too tall?" Jack said. Jamie had to hunch excessively to accommodate for Jack's height in order to fit under his arm.

"And you're much too short," Jamie replied, chuckling slightly.

This certainly was not the visit Jamie had been expecting but he was glad the winter guardian had chosen to have his weak spell in his presence rather than all alone in the middle of Antarctica or Greenland.

This type of stuff was what friends were for.

* * *

_My only hope is that at least one reader walks away from this first chapter saying "Wow, that Hoodie Allen is a swell rapper. I'm glad I discovered him"_


	2. Chapter 2

Jamie's back protested against his hunched posture actively as he helped support some of Jack's weight. It probably would have been less work to just carry the boy but he knew Jack would never have allowed that. He was always a bit touchy on how people handled him. Jamie was sure it had something to do with his 300 years of solitude.

"I can't believe I'm letting this happen," Jack said in between pants. They were just arriving to the car. It had taken a little while to get back, seeing as Jamie was walking for two while practically crouching. Jamie sighed in relief as he untucked himself from Jack's arm. Jack leaned heavily up against the car while Jamie pulled his keys from his pocket.

"Oh you'll be fine," Jamie unlocked the passenger side door and gestured for Jack to get in. The winter spirit's upper lip curled as he looked into the small cabin space. Jamie raised his eyebrows and again motioned for Jack to get a move one.

"Come on, I wanna get out of here," Jamie wasn't aware of who owned the dirt road he had driven down or what trespassing laws he was breaking. Laws of not, it was no doubt that if anyone had seen him they would have thought he was crazy, running around the middle of a field all by himself.

"Today, preferably," Jamie added.

Realizing there was no escape or squirming free, Jack gingerly lowered himself into the passenger seat. He frowned however, when he realized his staff was not fitting as easily as he had. His eyebrows creased together as he tried to maneuver the long stick into the car.

"Hang on, hang on," Jamie took the staff from Jack and tried to angle it in a diagonal manner extending into the back seat.

"Well don't break it!" Jack said in a slightly panicked voice as the wood creaked form being forced into a place it couldn't quite fit.

"I'm not!" Jamie said defensively. He groaned as the stick hit the back wind shield and still stuck out too far for the door to close. "Okay, this isn't working," Jack's face brightened, thinking he was possibly getting out the car ride.

"Stay here," Jamie ordered, closing the passenger door and taking Jack's staff with him. He could hear Jack's muffled protests as he was left in the car.

Quickly, Jamie opened his trunk and popped the hatch leading into the main part of the Corolla. Jack's depressed voice came clear again as the back seat folded down.

"..can't believe it! You steal my staff and then just leave me in here? You're trying to kill me, I swear! I'm going to call the police! Alert human services! North will hear about this and we'll see who's on the naughty list this year..." Jamie rolled his eyes and chuckled quietly so Jack couldn't hear him as he continued his spiel. Surely he would be offended if he knew Jamie thought his worries were completely ridiculous.

He slowly pushed the staff into the car, making sure not to cause too much stress on the ancient wood. It extended smoothly in between the driver and passenger seat. At first sight of his staff, Jack stopped his rant and grasped the lifeline fervently, though it was pretty much stationary.

"You good?" Jamie asked as he himself plopped into the front seat after walking around to the driver's side. The guardian of fun did not look like he was having fun at all. He was clutching his staff, knuckles white as snow. Jamie also noticed beads of sweat prickling across Jack's cheeks and forehead. That surely was not normal.

Jack replied with a glare and crossed his arms awkwardly, still keeping his hand clasped around his conduit. He wanted Jamie to know he was not_ ever_ going to agree with the decision to drive.

"Okay buckle up then," Jamie couldn't help but laugh as his friend dropped his angry front for disbelief.

"Are you kidding me? I get into your metal death trap, practically surrender my staff," Jack lifted the stick a few inches to show its lack of motility, "and now you want me to strap myself to it all?" Jamie was outright laughing at this point, while clearly Jack was very serious.

"I'm not leaving until you do it," Jamie was still laughing but he too was serious. He was a stickler for seat belts, seeing as he had witnessed first hand consequences of what happens when you don't wear them.

"We will get there sooner if you just buckle." Jack huffed and finally pulled the strap over his shoulder, awkwardly finding the clip and snapping himself in. Jack sighed and leaned back against the seat, eyes closing as he tried to control his stress. Surely this ride would be his death.

Jamie smiled to himself and finally started the car, which roared rather loudly to life. Jack's eyes shot open and looked to Jamie with concern.

"Sorry," Jamie cleared his throat, a little embarrassed, "I think I've got a slight muffler problem. It might be a little loud heh..haven't really gotten around to fixing that yet"

"And now you tell me the car isn't even working properly?" This was surely his worst nightmare. Jack muttered to himself shaking his head. Jamie thought he heard something about 'saying his last good bye's' and being 'too young to die.' The brown haired man laughed it off again, hoping his lack of concern would help calm his friend.

"So how long have you been feeling crummy?" Jamie asked pulling onto the road and returning to his usual route.

"Uh maybe a few days? I mean I'm just tired, I told you that," Jack was still clutching his staff. His other hand was nervously wringing the bottom of his hoodie. He was clearly not relaxing.

Jamie suddenly remembered he had promised they could roll down the window to help Jack's slight claustrophobia. With his left hand, he felt around the side of his armrest until his fingers crossed the window button controlling the passenger side. Not even thinking, he pressed the latch down. Immediately, the window to lowered, letting in the wintry air which whipped around the car.

Jack jumped nearly a foot, already on edge and not expecting the sudden movement of the glass.

"Sorry!" Jamie apologized quickly.

Jack clutched his chest as if he had just experienced a heart attack. "Melting ice caps, Jamie! You really are trying to kill me, I know it now"

Jamie laughed at Jack's innocent exclamation. "I'm sorry, really, I didn't mean it" Jamie tried to pull the smile from his face as Jack glared daggers, thinking he had meant to jump him, "Really I didn't mean to," Jamie said more seriously.

Jack eased his gaze and focussed his attention onto the welcome frigid air.

"S'hot huh?" Jack slurred, turning his head away from Jamie and resting his chin on window sill.

Jamie frowned. "I don't know Jack I think you might be getting a fever,"

"M'fine" Jack said again, not bothering to lift his head. His eyes were closed while he let the wind pull at his white locks.

Recognizing Jack's stubborn denial, Jamie sighed in exasperation. Jack was just going to keep refusing to admit he felt sick even though he clearly was not himself. The winter spirit wasn't even up to talking, which was completely unusual in its self. After a moment of silence Jamie turned his radio back on, figuring Jack would feel better if he was simply left a lone.

Jamie quietly hummed as he drove. The two had been sitting silently for some time, just letting the music fill the empty space. That was why Jamie was surprised when Jack suddenly perked his head and said very robotically, "Pull the car over." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Wha? But Jack we are like, 2 minutes away, can you sit tight? Why do you want to pull over" Jamie peeled his eyes from the road to look at his friend.

Jack didn't need to say anything to explain himself, Jamie got the message pretty clearly. The winter guardian gagged violently, his whole body lurching forward with the motion. He clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Woah! Okay! I'm pulling over. Hang on a second, I just cleaned my car!" Jamie frantically pulled off the road, bumping over a snow bank and coming to a stop. Jack gagged again his whole body heaving.

Using the hand that wasn't clamped over his mouth, Jack fumbled clumsily with the clip on his seat belt. As soon as he was free he hastily threw the door open, leaning out of the car, head down as his entire abdomen contracted to release everything and anything that was in his stomach.

Jamie winced as Jack vomited loudly onto the side of the road. There wasn't much Jamie could do to help, so he simply settled for rubbing the winter spirit's back comfortingly.

After only a few minutes Jack pulled himself back into the passenger seat and snapped his buckle in place as if nothing had happened. He wiped at his mouth a bit with the sleeve of his blue sweatshirt

"Sorry," Jack said simply.

"Feeling better?" Jamie asked, his hand still resting on Jack's shoulder in support. Jack nodded and closed the door. He did not look better however. Dark circles stood out prominently under tired eyes, accentuated by the startling pallor of the boys face. On top of his sickly appearance, a new sheen of sweat was clear to be shimmering and beading across his forehead and cheeks. He look like death warmed over. Or, cooled over in this case.

"Okay let's just get you back to my place then," Jamie said.

Worried Jack might have another episode, Jamie made sure to step on the gas a little firmer for the last stretch. It seemed that Jack had gotten himself under control, though he still looked deathly.

"Here we are," Jamie said as he pulled into the paved drive way. The little one story house was not much but it was pretty good for living on his own. He only owned half of the building, which was perfect for one. There were two front doors, one was his and the other lead to another living area that the landlord could rent out, however it was currently unoccupied.

"Good, I can't wait to get out of this thing," Jack unbuckled and unlatched the door, making a move to get out.

"Hang on, let me get your staff first, let's not get too hasty" Jamie was worried he would end up scooping the winter spirit off of the pavement. The brown haired man hastily jogged to the trunk and pulled the ancient wood from the back.

"Jamie. You're treating me like an invalid, or an elderly citizen! '_Hang on, Grandpa! Let me get you your cane!_'" Jack impersonated before glaring up at Jamie who held the staff out for Jack to take.

"Here you go, Old Man Winter" Jamie said snidely, earning an offended gasp from Jack who snatched his staff indignantly.

"Remember, I can still make a popsicle out of you," Jack said as he used his staff to pull himself up.

"You wouldn't. You love me too much. I'm your favorite believer after all!" Jamie grabbed Jack's free arm to help support him. He clearly was still unstable but Jack, being stubborn, shook Jamie off.

"I never exclusively said that,"

"Whatever you say" Jamie said in a sing song voice. Not quite trusting Jack, Jamie walked in close proximity incase he decided to take a nose dive. This was not without Jack noticing however, and he was certainly not happy about the hovering.

"Here we are! Home sweet home! It's not much but, ya know, its my first place and all. I'm paying for it by myself too!" Jamie let the door swing open after unlocking the deadbolt. This was Jack's first time visiting the apartment. Jamie had only been renting it for a year and a half and the past two winters Jack had crossed paths with Jamie by finding him at his childhood home.

On top of that, a part of Jamie had kept Jack away from the apartment specifically. He wanted to avoid any comments about the place being scrubby or out dated. Truth was, Jamie had incredible pride for his home, even with the water stains on the ceiling, 80's shag rug, and mismatched furniture he had gathered from various thrift shops. He was a proud independent and wished to avoid any negative comments about his home.

"Jamie, this place is awesome! How come you've never brought me here before?" A huge smile lit up over Jack's face, even though he still sagged upon his staff.

Jamie reeled slightly in shock. He had expected Jack to be polite but did not expect sincere approval of the place. Jack actually seemed impressed.

"You really think so? Thanks! It is pretty nice! It's one bed and one bath and I have my own washer and dryer! And, oh! You're going to have to see the attic sometime, it's creepy, like super haunted" Jamie was very excited at such positive feedback. His mother and sister always put on fake grins to cover their slight revolt at the shabby living space so it was nice to have someone appreciate it with him.

"Cool! I can't believe you really are on your own," Jack said taking in the surroundings while Jamie closed the door behind him. "You're not a kid anymore, that's a sure thing,"

"Hey, I'm always gonna be a kid, Jack. Right here." Jamie pointed to his chest just above his heart and smirked at Jack. It was kind of an inside joke the two had formed ever since that speech on the pond all those years ago. The two had looked back at the situation and decided it had been incredibly corny, and really quite funny. Jack poked at Jamie for buying his speech while Jamie poked at Jack for saying it in the first place.

"Ah knock it off," Jack punched Jamie's arm light heartedly, earning himself a chuckle from the taller man. The two stood for a moment, remembering how much they enjoyed each others company.


	3. Chapter 3

_"Ah knock it off," Jack punched Jamie's arm light heartedly, earning himself a chuckle from the taller man. The two stood for a moment, remembering how much they enjoyed each others company. _Unfortunately, it wasn't long before Jack snapped them back to reality.

"Ah!" Jack cringed suddenly as a surge of pain overtook his abdomen. He hinged slightly at the waste and bent in upon himself.

"Almost forgot about that," Jack said in a strained voice as he clutched his stomach protectively. Jamie had moved instantly to support Jack as he teetered on the spot.

"I think you better sit down" Jamie stated. Jack nodded in agreement as another wave had him folding further. Slowly, Jamie lead Jack to the tan couch sitting not far from the front door. Upon entry into the house, one was welcomed by the living space. A medium sized bedroom sat in a room to the right of the entry way while the kitchen conjoined with the living room to the left. A small bathroom was situated off the the bedroom as well.

Jack plopped down on the couch rather clumsily. He groaned in discomfort and placed his elbows on his knees while letting his head fall into his hands.

"Are you going to be sick again?" Jamie had sat on the coffee table positioned in front of the couch so he could face Jack.

"Not right now," Jack said, though he didn't sound 100 percent sure about it. Jamie mentally noted to bring a bucket at his next opportunity, just for safety.

"Do you want some water maybe?"

"uhh, sure," Jack's head was still down in his hands as if willing away his illness. It was probably not easy for a guardian to take a sick day. They were very stubborn bastards and well known for working their fingers to the bone.

"Okay buddy, just hang in there," Jamie pushed himself up off the table and momentarily placed his hand on Jack's shoulder reassuringly as he passed.

"Mmhhmm" Jack mumbled sounding frustrated, rubbing at his eyes with the heals of his palms.

Jack would never know it but Jamie had been silently assessing his friend. He had noticed Jack had considerable stomach cramps with pallor, sweats, fatigue, and muscle weakness. Jamie mentally diagnosed Jack with a simple viral infection like the flu. A passing illness that hopefully would not get too serious with rest but would probably be very debilitating.

Jamie opened up the freezer and popped a few ice cubes into a glass before filling it with tap water. He knew Jack would most likely be appreciative if his drink was cold.

"Here you go," Jamie entered the living room in no time. It didn't take long to traverse the length of the house considering its small size.

"Huh?" Jack lifted his head out of his hands and focused groggy eyes on Jamie. The older man offered the glass to Jack who did take the water. "Oh yeah, thanks" The winter spirit was pretty out of it.

"Oh wait! Before you drink that is it okay if I take your temperature?" Jamie decided he would like to know if Jack had a fever or not. It would be good to get some sort of baseline for later comparison. After that, he suspected the best thing for Jack would be to take a good long nap.

"Yeah, sure" Jack shakily put the glass onto the coffee table.

Jamie raised his eye brows at Jack's compliance. He must be really sleepy not to even put up a fight. Deciding he would take the good behavior without question, Jamie hopped up to fetch the thermometer he kept in his medicine cabinet. Upon return he instructed Jack to place it under his tongue until it beeped.

Once the device signaled its successful reading, Jamie removed the probe from Jack's mouth to see the digital numbers.

Jamie shook his head in disbelief as he saw the results. "That's so weird,"

"What?" Jack asked a little more alert at Jamie's response to his temperature

"You've got a temperature of.." Jamie paused to look at the thermometer again "40.5. Now that is something you don't see everyday. Do you know what your temperature usually is?"

"uh maybe 35 degrees? I'm not completely sure, only had it checked once. Bunny's idea," Jack obviously had a story behind that but Jamie would have to hear it later because right now Jack was probably not up for sharing.

"Sooo Fever?" Jamie asked. Jack shrugged. "Yeah, I'm calling it a fever," Jamie stated in finality. "I sentence you to bed rest and sleep"

"Jamie, it's one o'clock in the afternoon, I'm not going to be able to sleep,"

"Well then just lie down and rest. I think you will be surprised,"

"But there are snowballs to throw and windows to frost and blizzards to brew," Jack listed off some of his responsibilities as Jamie gently, but firmly ushered his friend into a lying position. "and ice to freeze, and...ah!" Jack cringed as his stomach gave a painful jolt.

"You okay?" Jamie watched the blood drain from Jack's face. The winter spirit snapped his mouth shut promptly.

"You're gonna be sick again, aren't you?" Jack nodded, one hand had moved to cover his mouth once more. His face was positively green. Jamie jumped up instantly, not anymore willing to clean puke off his carpet than he had from his car.

"Shit, I forgot the bucket! Sit tight, it'll take a second!" Jamie sprinted to the kitchen and rummaged under the sink until he found what he was looking for. Slightly out of breath, Jamie returned to Jack's side, bucket in hand.

Somehow, and to Jamie's relief, Jack had managed to hold back long enough for his return. Jamie shoved the bucket into Jack's hands. Immediately Jack doubled over the bucket and began to heave.

Once again Jamie found himself rubbing soothing circles on Jack's back as he retched harshly. His body tried futiley to expel contents from an already empty stomach. Jack did succeed in bringing up a bit of stomach acid and what looked like some sort of bile but the action was drawn out and rather painful to watch. Jamie couldn't help but feel bad. Being sick was the worst.

"I'm sorry," Jack said again once he regained control over his stomach and throat.

"Hey, don't apologize. Everyone gets sick. And better yet, my job is to take care of sick people!" By the guilty look on Jack's face, he did not believe a word of Jamie's reassurances. "I really mean it! In fact I can't think of a better way to spend my day off!" Now Jamie was just trying to be smart. Jack finally caved in and smiled.

"Get a life" Jack chuckled as Jamie grinned back, happy that he had successfully distracted his friend enough to put a smile on his face, even for just a moment.

"You're weird, you know that?" Jack added on, sinking into the pillow that had been nooked on the arm of the couch.

"You say to the person about to take care of your sick ass" Jamie was just about to hand Jack the water glass but withdrew it from his reach at the rude comment. He chuckled as Jack grasped thin air and scowled at Jamie for the fake out.

"Where did you even get that sailor's mouth?" Jack reached for the water again, happy when Jamie did hand it to him the second time.

"College! Duh-doi!" Jack furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head in disapproval before carefully filling his mouth with water. He swished the liquid around before spitting it into the basin in an attempt to rid himself of the awful flavor. When he was satisfied that the taste was mostly gone he returned the glass to the table.

Jamie frowned. "Jack, you should try to drink some of that water, especially after getting sick. You're probably dehydrated." Jack's face resembled that of a child being told to eat his vegetables.

"I'm just going to throw it up again!"

"When I say 'you should' I mean you are going to." Jamie raised an eyebrow at Jack who looked like he was going to protest again. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Jamie picked the glass up off the table and shoved it towards Jack. The winter spirit sighed loudly in frustration before taking the water into his hands once more and drawing a few sips off the top. Just enough to appease Jamie, but hopefully not enough to upset his roiling stomach. It seemed he had no independence today.

Jamie took the glass back from Jack after he had finished and placed it on the small table for later. The winter guardian leaned back into the plush pillow and swallowed audibly, shifted to get comfortable before looking to Jamie. The brown haired male was just staring at him blankly.

"What?" Jack asked

"You look horrible." Jamie said bluntly.

"Gee thanks, that means a lot,"

"Hey anytime," Jamie said this without much humor. Truthfully, he had meant what he said. Jack really did look awful and it was actually scaring Jamie. He was used to dealing with sicknesses but never had he felt so lost in the simple anatomy of a patient. He had no idea how Jack's body was supposed to be or how it would react to an infection. This was a blind battle that would have to be improvised every step of the way. He just hoped Jack's trends were similar to those of a normal human being and that this flu-like illness would pass soon.

"You really should try to sleep. I'm going to go make lunch. If you want something to eat when you wake up I can make you whatever," Jamie stood up and looked down onto the pale winter spirit.

"Ha. Slim chance of that," Jack closed his eyes, clearly very capable of sleeping despite his prior fight.

"We'll see," Jamie said. He quietly left Jack to fall asleep as he made his way to the kitchen.

Jamie sighed. This was certainly not the encounter he had expected. Usually when Jack came around it consisted of an impromptu, and completely immature snowball fight, followed by a long guy to guy story session that lasted into the wee hours of the morning. There was a lot to tell when nearly a year had passed without speaking with your best friend.

Not feeling very creative Jamie found a can of tomato soup in the back of his cupboard and heated it over the stove. His mind strayed, unable to keep his thoughts off the sick winter spirit currently crashing on his couch. He wondered momentarily if he should get in contact with the other guardians. They might know more about the situation than he did. He scratched the plan however, when he realized he had no idea how to contact them. He hadn't seen any of the other guardians in over a year, plus all the visits they had made had been on their initiation.

Once the soup was heated, Jamie transferred it into his favorite soup mug and brought it into the living room. He plopped down into the thread worn recliner that sat next to the couch. It was clear Jack had easily dropped into sleep. He lay with his head slightly tilted to the side and mouth cracked open. His breathing was slow and rhythmic. It made Jamie feel a little better that Jack was in the very least getting the rest he most likely needed.

Feeling awkward sitting in silence watching Jack sleep, Jamie grabbed the remote to the old box TV that sat in front of the furniture. He turned it on and quickly reduced the volume, looking to Jack for signs of disturbance. The winter spirit was much too far gone to be bothered by the news casters dull voice playing over the television. Jamie smiled briefly at this and leaned back into the chair, blowing on his soup contentedly. Maybe he would chill some for Jack for when he woke up.

It didn't take long for Jamie to finish his lunch. He did end up leaving some for Jack, which he stored in the refrigerator. If he had to, he was prepared for a force feeding. He was sure Jack would love that.

Jamie returned back to the living room after cleaning his pots and pans. Jamie was partially at a loss of what to do with his spare time. He usually would spend his days off grocery shopping or running to the library to pick up a new book, or even driving to visit his parents or Sophie at college. These options were all ruled out, seeing as he couldn't leave Jack alone in the house.

Picking up the mac book from his room, he returned to the recliner and settled for browsing the internet. Getting a bright idea, he typed in various prompts that may give him clues about caring for a winter guardian. It didn't take more than 15 minutes before he exited out of all his tabs, disgruntled and dismayed that the internet, for once, had absolutely no clues to aid him in his situation.

Shutting his computer, Jamie glanced over to Jack to see if he was still sleeping soundly. Reflexively, Jamie moved his eyes to Jack's chest to watch for a rise and fall. He may have been paranoid, but there was nothing wrong with checking. Fortunately, Jamie could see visible movements as Jack breathed.

Feeling weary, Jamie leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He was pretty exhausted from his week. This was his first day off in over a week. He had been picking up shifts left and right to try and make ends meet with his apartment and car payments. Sometimes adult life was stressful.

Slowly, Jamie felt himself drifting off to sleep. He figured a little nap could do him well too so he let himself drop into a light slumber.

Jamie didn't realize it but his "light sleep" quickly turned into a "dead to the world" type of sleep. It wasn't until five in the evening that Jamie started awake, instantly realizing he had slept longer than he had meant to.

"Uhg, what time it is?" Jamie wiped a bit of drool off the side of his mouth before pulling back his sleeve to look at his wrist watch. "Holy Shit! 5:15!? How the hell did that happen?" Remembering why he should not have slept that long in the first place, Jamie frantically looked over to the couch where he had left Jack.

Jack, however, had no idea of Jamie's slight panic attack. It appeared he had not even stirred for the whole afternoon. The winter child had snuggled slightly closer to the pillow and had curled his arm under his head. Jamie sighed heavily in relief. He had no idea what he had been expecting but somehow seeing Jack still resting peacefully calmed his worries.

The brown hair man stood out of the chair, groaning slightly as his muscles protested, scolding him for sleeping upright. A few audible pops resonated in the silent room as Jamie twisted to crack his back in several places. After stretching like a cat, Jamie shuffled to Jack's side, figuring he should probably wake him up and try to get him to eat something.

"Jaack," Jamie hummed softly. He shook Jack's shoulder lightly. Jack didn't respond in the least. "Jack," Jamie said a little louder accompanied by shaking his shoulder a little more roughly. Jamie rolled his eyes and finally gave up on avoiding a rude awakening. "Jack wake up!" Jack's eyes did crack open at Jamie's shout. "You've been sleeping for over 24 hours!" Jamie yelled in his friends face. Immediately Jack's eyes shot open in panic. That certainly woke him up.

"Wha?!" Jack feebly tried to push himself off the couch but failed. "How long've I been asleep?!"

"For over 24 hours." Jamie said very seriously. Jack looked horrified.

Almost feeling badly, Jamie couldn't take it anymore and started losing it. "I'm just kidding, you've only been asleep for 4 hours," Jamie cackled at Jacks angry expression. He was clearly not Mr. Sunshine after first waking up, and not yet good at taking a joke.

"You're the worst," Jack sagged back into the couch, closing his eyes again, probably hoping to be left alone so he could fall back to sleep.

"Hey I did wake you up for a reason. It's dinner time,"

"No." Jack didn't even open his eyes.

Jamie let out a barking laugh. "You don't have a choice in the matter. You had the unfortunate displeasure of running into me while you were sick and now you are under my care, and there for follow my rules"

Jack glared at Jamie from his spot on the couch. "Look. If you want to recover as quickly as possible, you will listen to me. I know what I'm talking about. I learned more than my colorful language at college you know. I'm good at healing people, Jack. Now stop being a sucky patient!"

Jack could no longer keep his angry gaze. He let it slide off his face easily to be replaced with what looked to Jamie like utter defeat. The expression kind of pulled at Jamie's heart strings. When Jack looked sad he had a way of subconsciously gaining sympathy from everyone in the room.

"Jamie I'm sorry. I'm just not used to feeling sick and.. and useless and like I'm a burden," Jack looked up at Jamie with shimmering eyes. Jamie instantly forgave Jack for being a little twit. He could never stay mad at Jack for long anyway.

"Jack, I understand. Trust me. You just don't know how to deal with being down for a little while. I'll help you with that, and more importantly, I'll help you get back up." Jamie gave Jack a sincere smile. He had made his way back to the coffee table and sat in front of Jack for their heart to heart. He put a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Thanks Jamie, I really do appreciate it," Jack returned Jamie's smile warmly.

"Well now that you have agreed to be a good patient, I'm going to go get your soup," Jamie got up from his seat and made his way into the kitchen.

"ughhhhh!" Jack groaned. Jamie turned to give him a stern look. "What? I never said I wouldn't complain," Jack was a cheeky bastard.

Jamie returned momentarily with the chilled soup in hand. Before he offered it to Jack however, he pulled the thermometer out of his pocket.

Taking the opportunity to prove he could be compliant, Jack took the little rod and placed it under his tongue. "Shee? I can be gud," Jack said around the thermometer. Jamie rolled his eyes but smiled.

A few seconds later the probe beeped.

"Huh, 42.7. That's higher than it was. I thought for sure you're nap would have helped," Jamie looked slightly disappointed.

"Hey, don't lose any sleep over it. I am feeling a little better," Jack actually took the soup bowl with shaking hands and sipped at the red liquid. Jamie smiled gratefully. The winter spirit still looked unusually pale and was beading sweat but he was perkier, and the bags under his eyes didn't seem so deep anymore.

"Well that makes me feel a little better I guess, but I'm going to have to watch that and make sure your temperature doesn't get too high," Jack didn't seem too concerned despite Jamie's worries. He really was feeling better and that was all that mattered to him.

"I'm just wondering how high your temperature can go before it gets dangerous. I mean, for normal people we have to worry about the heat denaturing our cell proteins, but that's not going to happen at only 50 degrees, right?" Jamie puzzled with this question aloud.

Jack stopped sipping the mug to look at Jamie with a bewildered expression. "Jamie, some of us didn't go to college here, and have no idea what you're talking about. Let's stick to layman's terms okay?"

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just trying to figure you out. You're so different from anything I've ever worked with,"

"Well I have no clue. I almost never get sick. In fact, I can't remember the last time I was," Jack had taken about half of what Jamie had given him before setting the mug aside, finished. It was rather pitiful seeing as the mug had been barely fully anyway.

Jamie frowned at how little Jack had eaten but realized it was probably a good thing he had gotten Jack to have any at all. "Well then, we get to figure it out together I suppose,"

Jack had slithered back into a lying position and cuddled up to the pillow again. "Mmm, yeah," He hummed in agreement. Jack let his eyes close easily. They were already so heavy. "I'll probably be better in the morning," Jack yawned.

"Going back to sleep?" Jamie asked.

"I'm tired...sorry I'm not too interesting today, kiddo," Jack mumbled sleepily. Jamie smiled at Jack's nickname for him, though it was not very appropriate considering he was a full grown adult. It brought on a certain nostalgia, even though circumstances had changed considerably since Jamie was a kid.

"It's okay Jack, resting will help you get better," Jack didn't even respond. He was already halfway gone.

Jamie found himself smiling at the perpetual teen. The boy's face had slipped peacefully into unawareness.

* * *

_Thanks to all those reading reviewing and favoriting and following! _


	4. Chapter 4

Jamie decided it was time to call Sophie. He had been so distracted by Jack that he had almost forgotten his little sister would want to know about their wintry friend as well. In fact, Sophie was most likely going to be mad at him for keeping Jack from her for so long already.

Jamie picked himself off the coffee table and tiptoed into his bedroom as not to wake Jack, though he doubted much could at this point. He closed the door quietly and plopped onto the bed which creaked under his weight.

Feeling nervous of his sister's wrath at being excluded, Jamie hesitantly typed the number into his cell phone. He gulped and held the mobile device to his ear and listened as it rang once, and then twice before his sister picked up.

"Hey Jamie, what's up?" His sister's clear and cheerful voice resounded over the phone, reading the caller ID to know it was him. He could hear commotion in the background of people talking and laughing.

"Hey Soph, you busy?"

"Nah, I'm not busy..hey cut it out! I'm on the phone!" Sophie laughed at whatever and whoever was causing her distraction. "Yes, it's my brother," Jamie heard Sophie say to someone else in the room. This caused even more ruckus in the background. It was no secret that all of Sophie's friends found him attractive and would like to do god knows what to him. Jamie couldn't help but let a little smile spread across his face

"Hang on a second, Jamie" The noise suddenly died down on the other end. It seemed Sophie had stepped out into a quieter room.

"Sorry about that, I was in a study session. We were, well, not getting too much studying done. And you know how my friends are," Sophie laughed again. She was a very popular girl in college. She belonged to a lot of clubs and had grown up to be a very friendly, kind hearted, innocent, "save the dolphins" type of girl.

"Yeah no problem. I was actually calling to tell you something,"

"What is it? Did you finally work up the courage to talk to that girl you were telling me about?!" Sophie said excitedly. Jamie blushed deeply and cleared his throat.

"No I uh, didn't do _that_ yet," That topic was actually one of the things Jamie had been looking forward to telling Jack. Even though Jack was a self-confessed and most likely forever-to-be virgin, Jamie found the spirit to have exceptionally good dating advice. He quickly trained his thoughts back onto why he had called Sophie in the first place.

"Anyway, it's not about that, it's about Jack," Jamie had to hold the phone slightly away from his ear at Sophie's loud exclamation.

"Jack!? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Is he in Burgess? Did he just get there? Can I say hi?!"

"Well he actually got here this morning..." Jamie trailed off again as Sophie continued to speak loudly into the receiver.

"This morning?! Jamie Bennet why didn't you tell me?! I could have been driving back and with you guys! Now I've got this study group and I have a test tomorrow! I don't think I'll be able to get home until Thursday! Damn, he better still be there by then!"

"Sophie, I have to tell you something else, Jack isn't really himself right now," Sophie quieted down immediately hearing the tone in Jamie's voice. It was 'concerned Jamie.' That was never a fun side.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want you to worry or anything, but Jack is here, in my apartment. He's sleeping on my couch right now,"

"Sleeping? He never sleeps, at least I've never seen him do that. Is he okay?"

"Yeah I think he's fine, he's just a little sick. I think he has some sort of flu."

"Jack Frost has the flu? Is that even possible?" Sophie asked the same question Jamie had been wondering. Just like Jack had said, he was never sick. Jamie could not think of one instance where the winter spirit had even the slightest cold. He was sure the guardian was invincible until their latest meeting.

"I wondered the same thing but he really is sick. He's been throwing up and running a fever and sleeping all day."

"You should have called me, Jamie! I wish I was there to help take care of him," Jamie could hear the longing in his sister's voice. They both cared deeply for Jack and would do anything for the little guy. He had done so much for them over the years.

"It's okay Sophie, he is with a certified RN, I think we can both say he is in good hands," Sophie laughed lightly, but now Jamie could hear the worry in her voice, her laugh no longer carefree.

"Hey, I didn't mean to worry you, I just though you would want to know,"

"No, I'm glad you called, I just wish I weren't so busy. It sounds like Jack really needs us right now. Maybe I could talk to my teacher.." Sophie trailed off.

"What and tell him Jack Frost is sick and he needs to be taken care of?"

"No!" Jamie heard Sophie put on a slight tone of frustration, "Obviously not! I would just tell him my Mom was sick and I had to go home, family emergency type deal,"

"Sophie, you are a horrible liar. Just stay put until Thursday and then you can come down. I'll make sure to keep Jack hostage until then." Jamie chuckled at the thought of Sophie trying to lie to her teacher. She always ended up losing her cover halfway through and getting into more trouble than she ever would have just telling the truth.

"Fine!" Sophie gave in, knowing she really was a horrible rule breaker, "You better fix him though!"

"Don't worry I'm going to try my darndest," Jamie said "Now go get back to studying, I didn't mean to distract you,"

"Ugghhh Jamie!" Sophie said in exasperation. She had just been given the most distracting bit of knowledge possible and she was expected to go back to real life. Pure torture.

"I'll keep you updated in texts, I promise!" Jamie chuckled

"You better, loser."

"Hey watch it twerp," If Sophie had been in the room he was sure he would have gotten an immature pout accompanied by a stuck out tongue. Maybe that was why he and Sophie could still see that guardians. They were still so immature. This thought made Jamie smile.

"Bye," Sophie hung up and Jamie sighed, glad that that had gone better than planned. He half expected Sophie to drop everything and rush to his apartment. It was rather late in the evening already but usually when Sophie got an idea she went for it.

Jamie pushed off of his bed and made to open his bedroom door. He wanted to check on Jack again, even though it had barely been 15 minutes. He didn't want to leave his friend alone longer than he had to. He wasn't even sure if he would be able to sleep in his room tonight. He would most likely end up crashing on the recliner in order to be in close proximity to Jack.

The winter spirit had not moved much from his position, but things had changed. In stead of lying back restfully, Jack seemed to have balled further in on himself, his eyebrows furrowing in discomfort.

Jamie frowned at this. Jack was sweating rather profusely while his cheeks had become tinged with a light pinkish hue, something that was usually not seen on the winter spirit.

The brown haired man took his position in front of Jack on the coffee table. He placed a hand on Jack's forehead and was surprised to find it rather short of frigid. It was no where near that of a normal human, but it was certainly higher than it had been when he had last checked it.

Not liking one bit of the changes that had happened over his short absence, Jamie figured he better wake the winter guardian.

"Hey Jack, can you wake up for me? I think I might want to give you some medicine for your fever." Still not sure how high he should let Jack's temperature rise, he did decide it was probably better to keep it closer to freezing. A little bit of Ibuprofen or Tylenol would hopefully do the trick.

Jack surprisingly came to rather easily. He cracked open fevered eyes and looked at Jamie pitifully.

"I think you've gotten a little worse, you know that?" Jamie again rested the back of his hand on Jack's forehead to feel the strange body temperature.

"Yeah, I don't feel very good," Jack admitted willingly. He swallowed thickly and clenched his eyes shut again.

"Here, why don't you drink a little water," Jack shook his head and continued to clutch his painful stomach.

"'M gonna be sick again," Jack slurred. Luckily this time Jamie was prepared. He had cleaned the bucket out from the last episode and had brought it back to stay by Jack's side for just this purpose.

"Okay that's fine," Jamie tried to sound reassuring. Jack's condition had definitely declined, and rapidly too. It seemed that this illness was not something that could be shaken easily.

Jack seemed to be completely void of energy. He could barely roll over by himself. Jamie had to grab hold of the small boy's shoulder and help prop him on his side with his face over the basin. Jack coughed weakly a few times before bringing up the small amount of soup he had downed earlier. Jamie sighed in disappointment. This was not turning out the way he hoped and surely Jack was severely dehydrated at this point. He had not managed to keep anything down since he had gotten to Burgess.

"Are you all set?" Jamie asked when Jack appeared finished. The winter spirit nodded but made no move to roll back over. He remained slackened over the side of the couch, hiccuping lightly. "Okay let's get you on your back again," Jamie said, realizing he would have to move Jack himself. He rolled the winter spirit with his arms back onto the cushions. Suddenly, Jack let out a sharp yelp of pain. Alarmed, Jamie flinched away from the boy, afraid he had broken something.

"Jack what's the matter? Tell me what hurts?" Jamie instantly recovered from his surprise and moved to hover over Jack, attempting to find the source of pain. It was clearly his abdomen causing him such discomfort, as he curled around it gingerly. Jack yelled out again and promptly rolled from his back and into the fetal position.

"Stomach," Jack said through clinched teeth. He groaned audibly. Jamie was now both concerned and confused. Usually with the flu there was not this much pain. Immediately Jamie began flipping through all the possible causes of such symptoms. Gallstones, food poisoning, appendicitis. Jamie had no idea what option would be more likely for the winter guardian but he figured it was no longer appropriate to wait the illness out.

"Okay Jack, I thought you might have the flu but the way this is going I don't think that's what it is," Jamie looked to Jack to see if he had heard. The winter boy was clearly focussing on his breathing as a distraction, sucking breaths in through his teeth and whistling them out through pursed lips. Jamie wished nothing more than to go with his original plan and give Jack some medicine for the pain and fever. Unfortunately, after trial and error, there was probably not much chance he would be able to keep it in his stomach long enough to absorb any of its use.

Knowing Jamie had to try and reduce Jack's pain somehow, the brown haired man grabbed one of the pillows resting on recliner. "Here Jack, hug this to your chest and splint your abdomen. It should help a little," Reluctantly Jack did take the pillow and curled around it, pressing it against his stomach. The teen was obviously still suffering but Jamie expected it was better than nothing. In the very least it could have a placebo effect.

"Jack I know you're not going to want to answer any of my questions but it's the only way to figure out what's wrong with you, and how to fix it," Jack cracked his eyes open, still breathing heavily from the pain. He gave Jamie a weary look before nodding in cooperation, ready to let down his pride.

"Okay good. Now, when did you start having abdominal pain. I need the truth," Jack closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths before answering.

"Three days,"

"Is this the worst its gotten?" Jamie asked. He was not surprised when Jack nodded vigorously.

"How long have you been throwing up? Today was not the first time, was it?" As Jamie suspected Jack shook his head no.

"I think it was about two days ago. I haven't been able to keep anything down since then," Jack said. It seemed his abdominal pain had subsided slightly, though he was still nowhere near relaxed.

"Geese Jack! You didn't think it would be important to tell me any of that?" Jamie said exasperated. Jack really had blatantly and outright lied when Jamie had first enquired about his health. He would never understand Jack's logic.

Said winter spirit looked defensively at Jamie. "Give me a break! I didn't know what was going on and I'm not used to relying on other people,"

Jamie ran a hand through his brown locks, trying to calm himself down. He really had no right to be angry at Jack but his worry was causing him to act rashly.

"You're right, I'm sorry," Jamie sighed before continuing. "When did you start feeling feverish?"

Jack stopped to think. At least Jack was actually trying to answer his questions accurately.

"Not until earlier today when you found me. I think that was one of the reasons I fell," Jamie wanted to blow up. He had to bite his tongue, even though he yearned to yell at Jack, thinking back to his previous excuse, '_the wind dropped me.'_ Jamie settled for placing his forehead in his palm and shaking his head disappointedly. "All I have to say is I'm glad I did find you and you're telling me now and that's all that matters," Jamie reasoned.

Jack blinked at Jamie, barely believing he wasn't going to get any more grief for his lies. If the roles had been switched and he was taking care of Jamie he would have been furious that information was being withheld.

"Alright, last thing Jack, I want to take a look and feel around a little,"

Jack subconsciously pulled the pillow closer to his body, guarding against what was to come.

"I don't think so Jamie. I've been cooperative so far,"

"Jack this is non negotiable." Jamie said scooting forward and getting in position to examine Jack's abdomen.

"It's gonna hurt way too much. I really, really, don't want to," Jamie proceeded to roll up his sleeves and rub his hands together, just waiting on Jack to uncurl.

"I'll try to be gentle. If I find anything, It could be a big help," Jack remained reluctant despite the words of comfort. "Listen, if anything hurts too much you can tell me to stop and I will," Jamie said this sincerely, needing Jack to allow him control. Looking extremely anxious, Jack slowly and gingerly uncurled himself from the pillow. He let out a few pained groans as he shifted onto his back. Jamie cautiously provided some support while he did this to minimize any jostling of sore areas.

"Is it alright if I roll your sweatshirt up so I can take a look." At this point, Jamie had shifted into a much more professional and caring mind set. He knew he was probably exposing Jack much more than he would like. He also recognized Jack was in a very vulnerable position and did not need any cajoling during this process.

Jack stared at the ceiling for a moment before nodding. With that permission granted Jamie began to gently fold the fabric of Jack's over shirt back to reveal his pale stomach. Jamie expected to see a little bloating or distention, maybe even a few lumps if he was unlucky but nothing like this. Unable to remain professional at his discovery, he let out a crude exclamation."Oh Shit!"

"What?" Jack perked his head up slightly, wondering what could have caused Jamie alarm. Covering the left half of his abdomen was a massive, purple, red, and yellow bruise.

"Oh shoot." Jack said catching sight of the discolored area.

"You didn't know about this!?" Jamie looked to Jack surprised by his surprise.

"I don't take my clothes off a lot if you haven't noticed," Jack said. He looked a little panicked after seeing the horrible looking contusion. "Am I gonna be okay? What does that mean!?" Jack was panicking by that point. Jamie recognized it instantly and regretted his reaction to Jack's stomach. He didn't want to cause Jack anymore stress than his body was already under.

"Hey, it's okay, you're gonna be fine," Jack's eyes were wide and his breathing rate had picked up. "It's a good thing we found this. We are a little closer to getting you better, because now we can treat this and it should solve all your other problems" Jack gulped and nodded.

"Do you know if this could have been caused by trauma? Did you run into anything?" Jamie's hands hovered over the marred area, afraid to touch it, though he knew he would have to eventually. "I know you fell the day I found you but I have a feeling this was here before then," Jamie noted the signs of healing in some areas as the bruise had turned yellow and brown. It had to be a few days old in the very least.

Jack's eyes sparked with realization and Jamie had a feeling the story he was about to hear would be obvious to cause this.

"Probably 4 days ago," Jack calculated the date, his brow furrowing in thought, "I was flying over a town in England. They were having a snow sculpture contest," Jack's face morphed into a slight smile as he reminisced. "It must have been some sort of winter festival. There were some pretty amazing pieces of art, and that's coming from Jack Frost!" Jamie nodded at Jack but gave him an expression silently saying to stay on topic.

"Anyway, a snow squall picked up spontaneously and I couldn't let it hit the town because it would have ruined all the hard work and art pieces!" Jack described this predicament as a mini disaster. Jamie would have smiled, as Jack always had a way with stories, but he had a feeling this was going to have a pretty rough ending.

"So I was trying to get it in check but the wind was not cooperating. Long story short, I did end up curbing it but the wind knocked my staff away in the process. I fell quite a ways, which happens all the time, but on the way down I hit the top of a lamp post, you know, the fancy ones with the point at the top?" Jamie sucked in a breath of air. That sounded like it must have been painful.

"Yeah, I caught it right in my side. It knocked the wind out of me so hard I couldn't breath. I think I must have passed out for a few seconds," Jack chuckled guiltily at Jamie's unimpressed expression.

"When I got myself together I didn't see any blood so I just kind of shook it off, like I always do. I found my staff and went on my way," Jack finished his story, all the pieces fitting together. "And things started going downhill from there," Jack sheepishly swallowed. "I guess I didn't really make the connection?"

With nothing else to do but forgive Jack for his carelessness, Jamie decided to take the information without scolding the immortal teen. There was no use in it anyway.

"So the blunt edge must have hit here, and it looks like you had quite a bit of internal bleeding, but your body seems to have taken care of most of it," Jamie pointed to the darkest area in the epicenter of the bruise and gestured his hands in a radiating type motion, mimicking how the blood must have spread. If any normal human had suffered an injury like this they would have been dead and done by now.

"Does that mean I just have to wait a few days and it will get better?" Jack asked with hope.

"I don't think so unfortunately." Jamie said truthfully. "If it was going to resolve I don't think you would be having these symptoms. You must have some sort of infection." This certainly ruled out some of the possibilities he was thinking before but opened up many more colorful pathologies. The one Jamie thought most plausible was peritonitis. If Jack had managed to tear the lining of his intestines there could be route for bacteria to spread into the abdominal cavity. If that were the case, this was a very dangerous situation. Then again, Jamie had absolutely no idea what Jack's GI tract functioned like and how similar it was to a human's. Could bacteria even live at such cold body temperatures?

Even with all the uncertainty, Jamie figured it best to proceed with a normal exam, how he would if it was a regular person.

"Now I'm not going to push hard but I do want to feel your stomach a little," Jack was slowly learning to trust Jamie but apprehension still covered his face. "I want you to tell me where you are tender and tell me when to stop if it hurts too much, okay?" Jamie was serious about that. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Jack.

"Okay. As long as you think it will help," Jack surrendered

Jamie nodded, hovering his hands over Jack's stomach before bringing them down gently on an unaffected area on his right side. He palpated lightly, just pushing in less than one or two centimeters. Jamie closely watched Jack's face for his reaction. "Any pain?" Jack shook his head no.

Jamie moved his hands to the right upper quadrant of Jack's abdomen, another area unaffected by the bruise. "Anything here?" Jack looked to be concentrating and anticipating pain but again he shook his head.

Taking a deep breath, Jamie finally began to palpate even more gently over part of the bruised area in his left upper quadrant. He was feeling for any rigidity or masses. He had felt none so far. Jamie watched for Jack's reaction. To Jamie's surprise, there wasn't much of one. "Does that hurt?"

"Not too much, it's a little more sore than the other areas but, not much" Jack was even a little surprised.

It was a good thing there was not wide spread pain but Jamie knew he had not yet moved to the darkest area of bruising. "Okay here we go, almost done" Jamie scooted his hands just over the area of deep purple, pressing as lightly as he could while still feeling the skin and tissue below.

"Ahh! Okay, yup. There it is," Jack flinched at Jamie's light touch. Immediately the trained practitioner pulled back.

"There's definitely something there." Jamie said.

Just before Jack had called it off he had noted a very hard mass just below the skin. That was troubling. He wasn't sure if there was any way he was going to get to feel it again, however. A, he didn't want to cause any more discomfort to Jack and B, he didn't want to further damage the tissue.

Looking to Jack first in questing, the brown haired man hesitantly brought his hand to just rest over the area, not enough to cause any more discomfort. The skin was radiating intense cold. "This part of your stomach is freezing!" Just to compare Jamie flitted to a clear pale patch of skin to note the temperature difference.

"It's like your inflammation is opposite of a human," Jamie stated. Jack looked at him with a clear question in his eyes as to what he meant. "Well in humans, you know when they have an injury or swelling, it usually radiates heat. You're injury feels like ice,"

"Well that makes sense doesn't it?" Jack said, "Heat wouldn't really help me heal would it? Plus that's how all my cuts and nicks heal when I get them," Jack shrugged.

Jamie raised an eye brow. "What do you mean that's how everything heals?"


	5. Chapter 5

_Jamie raised an eye brow. "What do you mean that's how everything heals?"_

"Well, If I ever get a cut, or anything along those lines, it just kinda ices over for a few seconds and then it seals itself shut," Jack described this as if it was the most normal and elementary healing process.

"So you freeze your cuts and that's how they close up?" Jamie tried to imagine the foreign idea, but found it difficult to wrap his head around. Jamie's eyebrows furrowed in both confusion and bewilderment.

"Here, let me show you," Jack said. "Do you have anything sharp?"

At this suggestion, Jamie blanched "What!? Jack, I'm not going to let you cut yourself! That's ridiculous!"

"Well I'm not gonna slice my arm off! Geeze!" Jack winced as the over enthusiastic conversation jostled his sore side.

"Careful," Jamie said, placing a hand on Jack's rib cage to steady his upper body. Jack, however, hadn't took much notice of his pain and was still looking to Jamie in question.

"Do you want to see, or not?" Jack asked.

Jamie was conflicted. One part of him _really_ wanted to see what Jack was talking about. It sounded fascinating. The other part of him screamed that self harm was never a good thing. But then again, small incisions and pokes had to be made in patient's all the time to get them better. Reasoning his way through the dilemma, he finally came to the conclusion that knowing Jack's healing process could definitely give him insight as to how the larger wound was progressing. It was all for science and medicine after all.

"Alright, but this has to be tiniest of nicks," Jamie pinched his fingers together, leaving a small gap as example to show just how minuscule he wanted the cut to be. Jack nodded clearly resisting the urge to reply sarcastically with '_duh!'_

Satisfied with Jack's agreement Jamie got up from the coffee table and moved into the kitchen. Still feeling a bit wrong about the whole thing, he pulled a small paring knife from one of the drawers. He looked at the sharp metal and decided to run it under the tap with some soap, just to eliminate the possibility of any foreign bacteria finding a way into the already injured boy's blood stream. Jamie also snagged a few paper towels and returned to the living area where Jack had not moved an inch.

Jamie reluctantly handed the knife and paper towels to Jack who took them gingerly, still moving carefully to prevent any pain in his abdomen.

"Okay, just so you know, I'm not entirely comfortable with this," Jamie said as he slid himself back on the coffee table to sit opposite Jack.

"Oh, relax. It only takes a second to heal," Jack said positioning the handle of the knife in his hand. Scanning up and down his left arm, Jack finally decided the best place to make the incision would be on his palm just over the muscle of his thumb.

"Are you watching? It's gonna be quick," Jack said bringing the knife to hover over the chosen spot. Jamie nodded, and scooted closer, eyes fixed on the pale, yet-to-be-broken skin. Jack looked to see if Jamie was ready before bringing the sharp blade down and slicing through the tissue without hesitation. The incision was only a centimeter long and barely a few hairs thick but it immediately began beading blood.

"Okay, now watch," Jack said. He took one of the paper towels Jamie had brought him and wiped the blood droplets away. He did this only twice before it started happening. Jamie couldn't help but let his mouth hang open in wonder.

As if on cue, a beautiful swirl of frost crept over the small wound, curling around the edges and knitting them together smoothly. It took no more than a few seconds for the frost pattern to completely cover the cut. A poorly timed blink and Jamie could have missed it.

"See! All Better," Jack said.

Jamie was almost sad when Jack brushed the pretty little ice crystals and their pattern away. What was left beneath was unscathed and unrendered skin. The only evidence that there had been a wound there in the first place was the presence of a tiny slit of shimmering ice that could only be seen when Jack rotated his hand to catch the light.

"And that will go away in a few minutes," Jack said gesturing to the ice sliver.

"Woah." Jamie said. That had probably been the coolest thing he had ever seen. Jack raised his eyebrows cockily, knowing he had been able to impress his friend.

"So that definitely explains why this is so cold," Jamie said. He let his hand float barely a few centimeters above the bruise on Jack's stomach and could feel the radiating cold. Jamie frowned as another question crossed his mind. "If you're so good at healing, then what's going on with this?"

Jack shrugged. His eyes were drooping in exhaustion but his face was drawn, still in quite a bit of pain. "That's why I didn't think anything about hurting my side. If there's ever a problem it resolves almost instantly. Or at least in a few days," Jack cringed again from the hurt. "I had no idea it could get this bad,"

Jamie couldn't keep the creases from forming across his brow in both worry and sympathy. It was one thing that Jack was injured, but it was another that he was so tortured. Jamie could barely stand seeing anyone in pain, let alone his best friend. He knew he had to do something about it.

"If I gave you some pain pills do you think you could handle them," Jack perked at the thought of his pain subsiding. "Catch is, I would want you to eat a little bit with them to prevent any damage to your stomach lining," Jamie wished to no end that he had his precious hospital supplies and stock room. He could simply hook Jack to an IV and not think twice. It was also not to mention all the other resources he could use, like x-ray, MRI, access to a surgeon. Jamie tried not to think about those things too much, knowing the impossibility of it all. Home remedies were the best he could do, really.

Jack visibly drooped at Jamie's second statement, knowing full well if he did eat anything it wouldn't stay with him for long, and Jack would rather avoid any more vomiting.

"Better just tough it out," Jack said with a hint of disappointment in his voice. It hurt Jamie to no end knowing his friend would be left to deal with his injury with nothing to curb the pain. There was no way he could leave it at that. Jack needed _something_.

"Well," Jamie paused, pondering a way that would make him feel less guilty about giving Jack pain meds on an empty stomach. "I suppose if you take them with milk it would be okay. Do you think you could do that?"

Jack considered for a moment when another surge of pain hit him. "Yeah I can do that!" Jack said resisting the urge to curl back onto his side.

"Okay good, I'll be right back" As an afterthought, Jamie grabbed the bucket that was still beside the couch and brought it with him to the kitchen. He figured if they did need it again it would be nice if it were washed out.

Jamie returned not long after, balancing a small cup of milk, a bottle of Ibuprofen, and the newly rinsed bucket. Jack had remained on his back but his eyes were shut in defeat. Every muscle in his body appeared to be tensed from the pain.

"Here it is," Jack opened his eyes to see Jamie setting the bucket down in close proximity and plopping back to his spot on the coffee table. "Do you think you can sit up to take these?" Jamie asked. Jack's face grimaced at the thought of moving.

"I can try?" Jack said this more of a question. His doubts were very high.

"We will see what happens" Jamie agreed leaning forward to assist Jack as much as he could. The winter spirit propped his arms at his sides. In unison, the two boys both worked to lever the thin body into an upright position. They did not get far before they ran into trouble.

"Nope that's not going to work! That's as far as we're going," Jack exclaimed. Dots burst in front of his vision from the agony caused by such a simple movement. Oh, how he took mobility for granted when he had it. Jamie immediately released Jack to let him settle. They had succeeded in getting him slightly further up the couch. One of the pillows acted as a ramp to prop the winter spirits shoulders just a bit higher than they had been. Jamie was satisfied that Jack could most likely drink from the position.

It took a couple of minutes for Jack to regain his composure. Like a good nurse, Jamie sat patiently, waiting for Jack to be ready.

"Okay. I think I'm good now." Jack said after a few deep breaths. The spike had passed but a dull ache still remained. He would be happy when he had the pain medication.

Jamie was ready with the pills and handed them to Jack. "Did you want to take them with the water and drink the milk after or just go for the milk?"

"Uh, I don't know. I've never taken pills before," Jamie's mouth formed into an 'o' at that. This might be a struggle.

"Why don't you try the water then,"

Jack had watched people take pills many times. It didn't look too hard, so once Jamie handed him the glass that had been sitting by the table, Jack tossed the pills back and filled his mouth with water to follow. Jamie sat by, feeling a little worried. Taking pills was a simple task but it usually took a bit of practice to master. A lot of people had a hard time with it.

Jack tipped his head back in an attempt to move the pills to his throat, but he swallowed all the water before he could get either of them down.

"Did you get them?" Jamie asked.

In response Jack spat both the pills back into his hand. "Ugh. These taste awful!" Jack said looking at the slimy tablets in his palm.

"Well that's why you just have to swallow them," Jamie rolled his eyes as Jack stuck out his tongue in disgust from the taste that still lingered there. "Try again," Jamie urged "You can just do one at a time if you'd like,"

Jack shook his head, determined to complete this simple feat. He popped the pills back into his mouth and filled it with water once more.

"Get this pills far enough back and then try tipping your head forward a bit when you swallow. It opens up your esophagus" Jack furrowed his eye brows at Jamie but did as he was told and tilted his head slightly towards his chest. Jack gulped audibly, and was happy to feel that he had successfully downed the pills. Unfortunately, due to his over exaggerated attempt, he had also managed to propel quite a bit of water down his wind pipe. Jamie could hear the unnatural squelching sound upon the swallow and was not surprised when Jack began to choke.

The winter spirit gagged and coughed feebly, caught between the excruciating pain that had begun to burst in his side and the reflexive motion to expel the water from his airway.

Jamie immediately jumped into motion. "Okay! Easy there! Back up on your side with the pillow," Throwing caution to the wind seeing as Jack was already in pain, Jamie grabbed Jack's shoulder and hastily propped him to rest on his side. The brown haired man also pushed an extra pillow into Jack's arms. The boy immediately curled around the thing, bracing his abdomen on instinct and successfully splinting the area.

Splinting was a technique often used for patient's who had just undergone abdominal surgery. Jamie was glad he knew the trick because it was damn useful for stabilizing any stomach wounds during a fit such as this one.

Jamie watched as Jack worked to bite back his coughs. Poor thing would rather give up breathing than be in pain. This evasive maneuver would definitely not be long term, Jamie noted, as Jack's face turned from red to purple.

"Jack! You've got to cough, I know it hurts," Jamie was beginning to get worried when Jack's face began to turn a shade of blue.

Finally, unable to control himself, Jack coughed harshly, simultaneously letting out yelps of pain. This went on for what seemed like forever. By the time Jack was finished, he was left gasping, eyes streaming with tears.

"Good lord, Jack," Jamie said, using his supporting hand to rub Jack's shoulder in comfort.

"Ow," Jack said breathily.

"It's all over, just take some deep breaths and steady out," Jamie instructed. The white haired teen nodded and tried to follow the orders.

"That was..._awful_," Jack said bluntly in between ragged breaths.

"Hey, give yourself some credit! All in all that was pretty good for your first time taking pills," Jamie reassured his friend. Jack did not seem to agree and shot Jamie a skeptical look. Jamie chuckled lightly and continued to massage Jack's upper arm to try and calm the boy.

Jack was dismayed when he realized Jamie had not forgotten about the milk. The brown haired man held it out to Jack barely after he had regained his composure.

"Seriously?" Jack half asked half groaned. Jamie just raised his eyebrows and pushed the cup at Jack. The winter spirit sighed and knew he couldn't go back on a deal. He propped himself up very carefully with his elbow. Jamie helped of course. With that, Jack cautiously downed the milk, making extra sure none of it went down the wrong tube again. He didn't know if he could handle another bout like that.

Once he had finished most of it, Jamie took the glass and set it to the side. Jack slouched back onto the couch and slackened in fatigue. It was a few minutes before either of them spoke. Jack seemed to be taking his time recovering. After one more deep breath, Jack broke the silence.

"Jamie, If anyone in the world was to see me like this, I'm glad it's you," Jack said this sincerely. "Just don't tell Bunny about this."

"Well I'm glad you trust me enough to feel that way, but why can't I tell Bunny?" Jamie had an idea of the relationship Jack and Bunny shared. According to the stories he gathered from Jack, the two seemed to act like bickering siblings, never quite getting along but always caring for each other when push came to shove.

"He would harass me for weeks!" Jack said as if it was obvious. Jamie immediately noticed the provided opportunity to pick on the winter spirit.

"Weelllll, at the hospital I am under strict law and contract to never divulge patient information and remain confidential, but due to the slightly less professional circumstances I might not be so inclined." Jamie said, a broad grin forming over his face.

"You wouldn't" Jack's eyes narrowed in a threatening way.

"It might be a good conversation starter if I ever run into the guy, who knows?" Jamie said casually.

"You had better not. Unless you enjoy indoor blizzards. This place could use a little winter spark I think," Jamie laughed at the idea and shook his head, happy that the two could still be light hearted even when situations were turning for the worse.

"I'm kidding! I won't tell him," Jamie promised laughing at how serious Jack remained, however he knew the winter guardian was acting it up. This was simply part of their shared sense of humor. Jamie loved the small distraction but his mind slowly slipped back to the present and the concerning issues. "But if you do get worse Jack, if I can't figure out what's wrong, could you contact the guardians if need be?"

Jack's expression was difficult to read for a moment. He looked away before answering, "It's hard, I don't know.." The winter spirit trailed off. Jamie had a feeling this was another thing Jack would lie about. He clearly didn't want many people to know about his bout of weakness, especially the guardians it seemed.

"Come on Jack, this could become very serious. They may be better at dealing with it than I am! Have more experience, you know?" Jamie was glad they were discussing this. He was fearful of taking on the responsibility of single handedly healing _the Jack_ Frost.

"They wouldn't. I doubt it." Jack fumbled, "Jamie, I just think it would be easier if you did it. You work at a hospital! You heal people every day! You tell me about all the time,"

"But I don't heal immortal winter spirits every day." Jamie said very seriously. He hated to let Jack know his insecurities but it seemed he needed to in order for Jack to understand the gravity of the situation. Sure he could fix up humans in a jiff, but with this, he was partially at a loss. It was shown just by how mind blown he had been after observing Jack's simple wound trick.

"You're smart though, you went to college!" Jamie shook his head at Jack hoping to convey that a little schooling didn't help him through every challenge of life. "Look, I just don't want to go to the guardians. I don't want them to see this,"

"Jack, it's been, what? 17 years since you joined them? Shouldn't you be a little more comfortable by now?"

"Jamie, I've _told_ you about this," Jack said with pleading eyes, "17 years is long to you but I spent 300 on my own," Jamie sighed and bowed his head, knowing Jack had a point, no matter how frustrating it was that he would rely on so few people. He barely was letting himself rely on Jamie for goodness sake.

"I just can't," Jack could not articulate his thoughts.

"Okay Jack, for now, we will plan to keep this between us," Jack relaxed in relief. "But if this gets too bad, you have to promise to think about it again. There's a lot of pressure on me here!' Jamie explained. "Also, I can't be held liable for any damages," Jamie added to lighten the mood again. This made the winter guardian chuckle lightly.

"Deal. To both" Jack said shutting his eyes in fatigue, satisfied that he had Jamie's cooperation at secrecy.

"Good, I don't want any lawsuits on my hand," Jack laughed as much as he could with the painful side.

The two fell into another comfortable silence. Jamie filled the time by gently massaging Jack's shoulder and neck muscles, or at least what he could reach while Jack lay on his side. He often found that when he did this for patient's they became more relaxed, compliant, and actually showed faster healing. Jack surprisingly was not protesting the motion either.

After about five minutes, Jamie noticed Jack's breathing had deepened and his body had relaxed into a relatively peaceful sleep. It was then that the brown haired man pulled his hand away to leave the boy be in order to let him rest.

Standing up and stretching once more, Jamie checked the clock. It was nearly nine o'clock in the evening already. He was usually a grandpa and clambering into bed at this point, but tonight would have to be different. Though he could feel the allure of sleep behind his eyes, he knew he would never put his mind to rest with Jack in this condition. It seemed like it would just be a long night.


	6. Chapter 6

It wasn't until 1:30 until any more activity occurred in the small house. Jamie had dimmed the lights and pulled a small lamp next to the recliner so he could read quietly while Jack slept. Every page or so, Jamie's eyes would flick up to the couch where the very pale winter child lay. Each time he would see the same thing; the winter spirit resting on his back, hands folded across his chest, face mostly relaxed but not completely free of a subconscious grimace.

It seemed that the light dose of pain medication had been effective at quelling some of Jack's pain, just enough for him to sleep. For this, Jamie was glad. Rest would only help the healing process.

Jamie had started a new book that night and had already managed to cover near a third of the thing. It was around page 123 that Jamie's eyes could no longer continue scanning the text due to a very concerning distraction. Gradually, Jack had slowly begun to fidget in his sleep, letting out soft groans here and there. On each of these sounds Jamie would sit slightly on edge, his eyes fixed for any further movement. It took a while for Jack to actually awaken from the pain.

Jamie watched as the winter spirit parted his eyelids slowly but suddenly shot them open fully with a gasp of pain.

"Gah!" Jack cringed from the rude awakening

Jamie put his book down on the side table and made his way over to Jack. He glanced at his watch to check the time and mentally did some quick counting. It had been exactly four hours, pretty much on the nose, since Jack had been given the pain medication. It was like clock work.

Jamie took up his position on the coffee table and waited for the winter guardian to become more alert.

It was a slow return to consciousness, and a dreadfully uncomfortable way to wake up. Jack had started to notice the throbbing in his side increase until it had stirred him enough out of sleep. He tried so hard to return to unconsciousness but simply could not. A sudden jerk of pain forcibly made it known he would not be getting back to sleep anytime soon.

He looked around the area and was surprised to see Jamie just by his side.

"Hey, you're awake," Jamie noted as Jack's eyes came to rest upon him.

Jack swallowed and looked at the 'older' man. He opened his mouth, about to say something but cringed as his abdomen seared. "I wish I wasn't," Jack said as pain began to escalate again. It seemed to come in waves.

"Ahh!" Jack let out a hoarse yell, startling Jamie as the pain peaked without warning. The winter spirit curled upon himself, as much as he could while still on his back. A pale hand shot to his mouth, surprised at his exclamation. He bit down on his finger in an attempt to distract himself. He would have drawn blood had Jamie not pulled it away and grasped it tightly in his own hand.

"Hey it's gonna be okay! Just squeeze my hand," Jamie tried to keep a straight face as Jack used his upper extremity as an outlet. He thought his fingers might snap if Jack didn't let go soon. He fought the urge to pry them back to freedom.

Just when Jack thought he had experienced the most pain he had ever felt in his life, he was proved wrong. With a horrible jolt, Jack could have sworn someone had stuck a knife in his gut. Jamie flinched as Jack squeezed harder than he thought possible, causing a few audible pops to sound from the brown haired man's knuckles. It was then surprising to Jamie when the hand suddenly slackened against his own.

"Jack?!" Jamie watched Jack's eyes glaze and roll back into his head. There was not a drop of blood left in the winter guardian's face. Jamie's heart jumped to his throat in panic, a hand moving to the carotid pulse in the winter boy's thin neck. It was racing, but present. Jamie's hand moved up to sort of cup Jack's cheek. He tapped at the boy's face gently, all the while calling his name.

"Jack, can you hear me? Let's wake back up, okay?" Jamie again checked Jack's pulse for any changes. It was strong, just a little too fast. It seemed Jamie didn't have to worry about Jack's heart suddenly stopping, but this was still quite concerning to the RN.

To Jamie's great relief, it was only moments until Jack's eyes began to flutter as he returned to consciousness. The boy moaned and Jamie felt the cool hand tighten around his once more, though with not nearly as much force, thank goodness for Jamie's bones.

"Jack, are you alright? You've got to open your eyes for me," Jamie just wanted to give Jack a few words to focus on and hopefully make finding awareness a little easier. It seemed to help some, and with a bit of effort, blue eyes opened, looking slightly disoriented.

In that moment Jamie noticed how fast his own heart was racing. That had been rather terrifying.

"Jack, how do you feel? You passed out on me for a second," Jack was still dazed and had some difficulty focussing on Jamie but he was coherent enough to answer the question.

"I..I don't know what happened. It hurt so much, and then.." Jack shook his head, feeling it was still not quite working right.

"Hey, it's alright. Your body is under a lot of stress right now. You were just responding to the pain,"

"Jamie, I'm going to be sick again," Jack said

Getting used it it by now, Jamie quickly passed Jack the bucket and helped him turn slightly over the basin. By this point, Jack had absolutely nothing in his stomach and simply heaved dryly.

"We have to figure out what is causing all this," Jamie said, frustrated by Jack's worsening condition. Jack panted weakly after his stomach had stopped its involuntary contractions and nodded in agreement.

"Jack, I'm sorry but I am going to have to assess your abdomen more. I need to figure out what is going on inside," When Jamie was flustered he found he talked with his hands a lot more than usual. By this point, his arms and fingers could have been telling the stories themselves. He noticed this and tried to cross his arms to quell the nervous habit, not wanting to make 'his patient' uncomfortable.

Jack groaned when he heard Jamie's latest idea at how to approach the situation. He knew it would only bring about more pain.

"I know, I know, but I can't just treat the symptoms. If the base problem persists you're only going to get worse." Jamie stated in finality. The thing that made him nervous about his statement was that he knew it was the dead truth. He had no idea how bad things could get, but they were certainly not progressing in an upward direction anytime soon. He was also kicking himself for not insisting on more assessment sooner. Jack had put up a protest which he should not have abided by.

"And if it gets worse, we have to get the guardians,"

Jack had closed his eyes through Jamie's little speech. There was no doubt in Jack's mind that what Jamie said was true. He could read his body and feel the pain becoming less bearable as time went on. On top of that, he certainly did not want the guardians involved. He would do anything to avoid that.

"Do what ever you have to do, Jamie," Jack pried his lids open and turned his head to make sure he and Jamie were making direct eye contact. He wanted Jamie to know he was serious. "Just fix me, I don't care how anymore, just do it. You have my full compliance."

Jamie gulped. Though he already knew he had responsibility, Jack had just vocalized his complete request. He had no choice but to succeed now. He could not afford to hesitate anymore. He had neglected this type of care long enough.

"Okay I'm going to have to palpate your abdomen again. And I'm also going to auscultate this time. I'm going to be gentle though, and I still want to know when it hurts, and when you can't stand it anymore,"

"Sure, what ever you said is fine," Jack verified, even though he wasn't quite sure of what Jamie was talking about. He trusted his friend enough at this point.

"Right, Good." Jamie said a little awkwardly. He had been expecting some type of protest and was surprised that it didn't come. "Okay then, I need my stethoscope. Be right back," Jack nodded as Jamie popped up from his seat and briskly walked to his bedroom where he had left the instrument.

"Alright, here we go. Is it alright if I roll your shirt up again?" Jamie asked while he dropped back onto the knee-high table, stethoscope hanging over his shoulders. Jack again bobbed his head up and down and pulled his shirt back to reveal the nasty looking bruise underneath. Jamie helped roll it up to expose the area completely. Jack couldn't help but flinch a little from the movement.

"hmm," Jamie hummed in concern as he was again able to get a good look at the offending injury. The bruise was definitely healing around the edges but there was still the deep purple epicenter where the lamp post had probably made direct contact.

Popping the buds of the stethoscope into his ears, Jamie placed the diaphragm of the stethoscope over the lower right side of Jack's stomach. Even though it was unaffected by the bruise, it was still important to assess function.

The winter spirit watched with weary eyes as Jamie went about his business. Jack found it odd how long Jamie listened at each spot. Another thing that had him concerned was Jamie's deeper furrowing brow each time he listened at a new area.

Jamie had heard all types of sounds from patients' belly's over the years, but this was something far more concerning. There was absolutely no activity to be herd whatsoever. Jack's abdomen was completely silent. In the hospital, it was protocol to listen for a whole five minutes before declaring there were no sounds heard, but Jamie knew he would hear nothing after the first two minutes of silence. Fortunately, he heard some faint trickling noises just near the bottom of Jack's ribcage but everywhere else was silent. The pieces were slowly starting to fall together and Jamie was becoming extremely concerned.

"Okay Jack, now I'm going to feel around very gently again, tell me when it hurts,"

"Wait, what did using that thing do? Did you figure anything out? You look worried," Jack said, feeling Jamie's agitated vibes.

Jamie sighed at Jack's perceptive noticing. "I have my suspicions but I want to check a few more things first, just try to relax?"

Jack didn't look happy about the nothing answer but he did sit back a little and try to release some of the muscles he had been subconsciously clenching. He let out a deep sigh, and was still, ready for the next step.

With this Jamie nodded and rubbed his hands together to warm them. He paused however when he realized this was a winter spirit he was dealing with and would probably be more comforting to Jack with a cooler touch. An odd realization.

Getting over the strange thought, Jamie brought his hands over the pale belly and began his palpation, using the same technique he had before, starting with the unaffected parts first. Jack was relatively quite during these areas but progressively became more tense as Jamie's hand drew closer to the bruised skin.

"Its going to hurt a little but I want to try and feel as much as I can. Try to hold on as long as you are able,"

"Okay" Jack said.

Jamie could see Jack's abdomen was slightly distended. Other than that, even over some of the bruising, he had not felt anything too out of the ordinary. He slowly brought his hands to the darkest piece of skin and pressed in lightly. Jack clenched his eyes closed and hissed but other than that bore the pain, knowing he would be better off if he just let Jamie prod him for a bit longer.

Jamie's fingers came in contact with the same mass he had felt earlier. It was very solid, fixed in one spot, and the surrounding skin was ice cold. Jamie pressed in a little harder, trying to feel the edges a bit more. They seemed jagged and sharp.

By the look of Jack's expression, he had just about had enough. Jamie lifted his hands off Jack who released an immense breath he didn't know he had been holding. "You did really good Jack, Thank you,"

"Did you figure anything out?" Jamie just looked at Jack for a moment, his mind racing. He wished he had another person other than his patient to conference with. He definitely didn't want to throw any ideas into the open without knowing they were true but he had no choice.

"I think I have a pretty good idea of what's going on, but I can't be sure. I told you I've never treated a winter spirit remember?" Jamie started. Jack nodded, eager to hear what Jamie thought.

"What I think is going on, is that your body's trying to heal itself, but doing a very poor job," Jamie sighed as he tried to shuffle around the information he grappled with.

"You showed me your finger heal with frost and ice," Jamie began using his hands again, nervous his hunch may be far fetched. He gestured to the wound and again began tracing it in the air to explain further. "Well, if you got a cut inside, it would do the same thing right?"

Jack nodded, finding this to be a logical assumption.

"And if that's the case, and you got a really _big_ cut inside, let's say across your intestinal wall, a lot of ice would have to go to the area to seal it off," Jamie took a deep breath, worried that Jack had yet to interrupt. He was trying to explain his theory as much in layman's terms as he could so Jack could understand what he meant.

"And if I am correct, your body's core temperature is colder than your skin, possibly suggesting there could be more ice formation to heal an internal wound,"

Finally Jack cut in with a comment. "Well if there is a lot of ice, shouldn't it heal faster?"

"Now there is the problem," Jamie began to explain a little faster, finding that maybe his theory was not so far off, seeing as every question could be answered with logic. " There is too much ice. Your body is over compensating and the formation is causing all of your symptoms. The pain, the nausea, the vomiting"

Jack nodded even though he still looked thoroughly confused. Jamie knew he needed to make the main point.

"Long story short, you've got an obstruction," Jamie was surprised he said this with such confidence. He had only been certified for a short period of time and would never be able to make a real medical diagnosis in his practice.

"The ice has built up so much, its blocking your digestive tract. When I listened to you abdomen I heard absolutely nothing past this point, Jack. When I feel the area it's freezing cold, the mass is hard and jagged, and you haven't been able to eat anything for days," Jamie rattled off all the factors that lead to his assumption. "That's got to be it. Your pain is consistent too. It comes in waves, some as your intestinal activity does. When your smooth muscles contract the pain peaks"

Jack looked concerned at this and opened his mouth to speak, "And is that..treatable?" Jack hesitated, not quite sure what to say. Truth be told he was terrified. He had absolutely never been in any situation such as this one.

Jamie stopped, after all the excitement of his first solved medical mystery. He may have solved it but simply knowing the cause was not where it stopped. It was absolutely necessary to understand the problem but even more so to make sure the patient got out alive from the ordeal.

Jamie's mind of course first jumped to surgery, but that wouldn't do when his best cutting supplies were a large steak knife and a pair of kitchen sheers. He skipped around, trying to ignore the obvious fix the hospital would have chosen. He was reminded how torturous it was to work out of the hospital which was full of supplies and resources.

Jamie thought for a moment then slowly grew an idea. "Fever.." Jamie said, thinking out loud.

Jack looked confused "What?"

"You've had a fever! Your body knows that this is not supposed to be there," Jamie gestured to the darkened area of skin where the ice mass lay just underneath the surface. "We need to treat it with heat. That's the only way to melt it off. In fact, it is just our luck it is ice! We can get rid of it without cutting you open" Jack's face blanched slightly with the idea of being gutted. Despite this he still had a problem with the first suggestion.

"Jamie, I can't take heat! That is way out of my element. _Literally_. It will make it worse!"

"Jack! You told me I had your full compliance. You are going to have to trust me. I know this has to be it." Jamie could feel it. This was the right thing to do.

Jack took another deep sigh and closed his eyes in preparation. "Heat it is,"


	7. Chapter 7

Jamie was no longer seated calmly on the coffee table. He had resorted to pacing back and forth, probably the only way to relieve some of his nervous energy. "Okay, so I'm going to need towels, at least two hot packs, a ruler, a thermometer, a note book, a pen" Jamie listed off the things he would need for the process, flipping fingers up as he thought of more.

"A ruler?" Jack asked. He then cringing in pain. It seemed he was doing that a lot today.

"Well, I'm going to need to measure the ice mass to see if it's decreasing in size after we apply heat. That way we know if it's working. I'd like to avoid this treatment if it's not," Jamie was nervous about what the heat may do to Jack. He was a winter spirit after all and last he checked, snow and heat didn't really mix well. He had seen Frosty the Snowman when he was little. He hoped Jack wouldn't have a similar reaction.

"So, you think this is going to be painful?" Jack deduced from Jamie's desire to make sure they were only doing the procedure if it was effective.

Jamie paused. He didn't want Jack to be scared, but truthfully, Jamie thought it was going to be pretty rough. "Uh, I couldn't say, really. I think we should try to use the heat as minimally as possible though. We don't know what the adverse effects are going to be,"

"I agree," Jack said, shutting his eyes. The pain had momentarily waned and he relished the small break in the storm. By the time Jack opened his eyes again, Jamie had left and come back, all the supplies he had mentioned gathered in his arms.

"Okay, first thing, I want to measure, then we'll start," Jamie rummaged through all the supplies he had brought until he found the little plastic ruler he was looking for.

"I'm going to find the edges of the ice mass by using percussion." Jack gave Jamie a weary look.

"Sounds like its going to hurt," Jack asked, swallowing thickly, already feeling the pain slowly making its presence known again.

Jamie chuckled lightly at Jack's 'optimism'.

"Well actually, it shouldn't hurt at all. I'm just going to indirectly tap on your abdomen," Jamie demonstrated the task on the table so Jack could see just what he meant. He took his left middle finger and placed it firmly on the surface of the table. He then took his right index finger and tapped sharply against the one he had planted on the wood just between his last knuckle and finger nail. The result was a impressively loud knocking noise. "and when I hear a difference in sound from one spot to the next," Jamie then moved his hand to press his finger firmly into his own thigh. He tapped on the grounded finger once more. This time, the sound was quiet and muted. "I can figure out what is going on inside."

"How do you people come up with these things? Actually I don't want to know, let's get this over with. I trust you know what you're doing." Jack said

"Alright let's do it," Jamie said, finally sitting on the coffee table and approaching Jack's abdomen. His hands shook rather visibly, something they hadn't done in ages since he had gained his confidence. He hoped Jack didn't notice.

Jamie preformed the task easily, steadily becoming more efficient in his movement as his hands recognized Jack as any other patient he treated, though he barely had use for this particular technique in the real world, what with all the modern technologies that were more effective.

As Jamie tapped along, he heard the change from resonant to dull when he moved over the mass. Jack only winced minimally and even seemed fascinated by the process. Jamie made a small mark in pen on Jack's skin where he felt the mass to start and end. He slowly and gently circumscribed the area until he was confident he had percussed the entire ice chunk.

"There," Jamie said puling back to look at his jagged circle of a "master piece" drawn onto Jack's skin. Jamie used the flimsy ruler to measure the diameter and scribbled the number down in the little notebook he had dug up. "Now let's get started"

"Moon have mercy," Jack prayed quietly to himself. Jamie tried to ignore Jack's fear and picked up the hot rice pack he had heated in the microwave.

"Tell me if you can't handle this," Jamie said as he placed a thin towel over Jack's bruise followed by the hot pack.

"Gahh!" Jack exclaimed at the sudden temperature applied to his skin.

"Too much?" Jamie asked, hands moving to grasp the pack and pull it away.

"No it's okay, I think I'm gonna be okay," Jack said slowly unclenching his muscles and trying to relax. Jamie released the rice pack and let it continue to sit in its place.

"Alright then, baseline temperature check,"

"What?" Jack asked before the thermometer was rudely shoved into his mouth without invitation.

"The heck?" Jack said indignantly at the violation.

"Sorry, I need to chart your temperature throughout so I can monitor it. I want to keep it closer to your norm than not," Jamie said looking abashed.

Jack nodded in understanding and waited for the probe to go off. When it did Jamie noted its reading at 42.8 degrees. Jamie wrote this down meticulously.

"Let the treatment begin" They would never admit it, but both boys were beyond nervous.

* * *

By this point Jack barely had a moment where the thermometer was not in his mouth. Jamie felt as though he was doing a pretty good job at keeping Jack's temperature high enough to be therapeutic but not enough to cause any extensive damage.

After they had begun, Jamie had measured Jack's temperature at least 6 times, and the mass twice. So far, results had begun to look promising.

"How are you holding up now?" Jamie smiled apologetically realizing Jack still had the thermometer sticking out from between his lips. The winter boy was absolutely soaked in sweat and shot daggers at Jamie. The thermometer beeped and Jamie took it out, noting it was still within the range he had set for himself, above 43 but no higher than 48.

"Well I feel like I'm going to melt and that my skin is burning off but other than that, just peachy how are you?" Jack said sarcastically. Jamie figured that just like anyone, as the heat rose so did Jack's temper.

"I'm sorry Jack, you know I am. This is going to help you though. The mass has already decreased by at least a centimeters." Jack looked back at Jamie with tired eyes. He really did feel bad about giving Jamie a hard time but he was just about done with this whole sick thing. He would have rather gone and crawled under a rock and just waited the sickness out. After all he was immortal. He may still be able to perish but it sure took a hell of a lot more to do him in.

"Jamie it's fine. I'm just not feeling too great right now, and I'm taking it out on you. Don't mind me," Jack said, very surprised he had the self control to actually apologize at that moment in time. He knew he had done the right thing because Jamie smiled in relief. There was still quite a bit of worry in Jamie's face but at least he knew Jack would not disown him after the ordeal.

"Ready for the thermometer again?" Jamie asked. He was being completely anal and over killing it with the temperature monitoring, but he would shoot himself if Jack didn't make it through because of something silly like over heating during the process.

"Jamie you _just _checked it. Give me a break, I'm getting tired over here."

"Fine, I'll give you a few minutes but I'm not letting it go too long,"

"Yeah, yeah," Jack said, closing his eyes and bringing a pale hand to wipe the moisture dripping down his forehead. He felt Jamie mop away some of the water droplets with a towel but did not open his eyes to see. He really was exhausted. Before barely any time had passed, Jack felt Jamie's hand shake his shoulder gently.

"Okay temperature check," Jamie held the thermometer out to Jack who groaned and cracked his eyes open just in time to see Jamie shove the little probe between his lips once more.

"I swear Jamie, you are being neurotic!" Jack said around the plastic rod.

"Just a precaution, Jack. Don't hate me for it," The thermometer beeped shortly after and Jamie saw that Jack's temperature had not spiked in any dangerous way.

"Still looking good, I think it might be time to check and see if the ice chunk has gotten any smaller,"

"Wait, Jamie," Jack said rather breathlessly. Jamie frowned, wondering why Jack was suddenly out of breath without any physical exertion to trigger it. "I can't...can't catch a breath," Jack said beginning to pant. He clutched at his chest and groaned. "Hurts," Jack added.

"You're chest hurts?" Jamie asked, caught off guard. Everything had been going so smoothly, and this turn was certainly very much for the worst. Jack nodded his breaths beginning to come in wheezing gasps.

"Shit," Jamie swore trying to think of what in the world was causing the new ailment.

On instinct, Jamie ripped his stethoscope from around his neck and hastily popped the buds into his ears. Without even asking, the RN lifted Jack's shirt and placed the flat side of the instrument against Jack's rib cage and began listening to each breath intently. He moved across Jack's chest hastily, trying to listen to everything he could in the shortest amount of time possible. He had to figure out what was going on, and fast.

It was over the right lung field that Jamie noticed severely diminished lung sounds. It was as if a part of the lung had simply shut down.

"Shit," Jamie repeated, the blood leaving his face, knowing exactly what was going on. Jack's lips were quickly turning blue.

"S'bad?" Jack asked breathlessly, his eyes full of fear.

"Jack, I think you've lost blood flow to a large portion of your right lung," It broke Jamie's heart to see the terror consuming his friend.

"C'you fix it?"

"I...I don't know," Jamie stuttered, not being able to answer that with a definite yes. "I have to figure out what's causing it,"

Jamie was practically positive Jack was suffering from a pulmonary embolism. This pathology involved some foreign fragment in the blood stream becoming stuck in the capillary network of the lungs, acting as a dam for blood flow. Without blood flow there was no oxygen exchange. Jack might as well have been holding his breath.

Jamie reviewed the diagnosis frantically in his head, hoping that he could reason out a plan.

Usually, the blocking fragment was broken off from somewhere in the periphery of the body. It would travel through the veins back to the heart where vessels remained relatively wide. The loose clot, would not have a run in with narrowed capillaries until it reached the lungs, where it would lodge, cutting off blood flow.

If it really was a clot, made of clumped blood platelets, Jack was in trouble. Jamie had no access to clot dissolvers, medicinal blood thinners, or surgery, that would usually be used to treat the illness. Jamie refused to believe this was the cause, however, as the prognosis was so poor. He continued to grapple with different possibilities.

Suddenly, Jamie's mind lit with an idea. What If a piece of ice had broken off from the larger mass and made its way into the blood stream? It was a shot in the dark but it was the only one that ended with Jack coming out of this alive. Ice could be melted by simply rising the temperature. Now that was something he could do.

"Jack, I'm going to have to put a hot pack on your chest," The winter spirit was not in any position to respond, as all his breath was being used to fill his one working lung. Jack simply settled on nodding vigorously, realizing he would rather take the discomfort of heat than have to deal with suffocating to death.

Jamie shoved the second, previously unused, rice bag underneath Jack's sweatshirt just over the area of lung where he had heard diminished sounds. Hopefully the chunk of ice would be small enough to melt quickly.

Jack let out a strangled cry, the hot bag of rice irritating the sensitive skin. Jamie just hoped it wouldn't blister. Even if it did, Jamie would prefer a badly burned Jack to a dead Jack.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just hold tight," Jamie was very worried. There really was no way to be sure that the object breaking the flow of blood to Jack's lung was a piece of ice. All he could do was hope and pray.

Jack breathed in short clipped gasps as he struggled for air. It felt terrifyingly similar to drowning. Worst of all, Jack could feel it becoming harder and harder to draw breaths. They were becoming less effective as well. A weakness began to settle over his body and he was sure it was not a good sign.

Jamie could see Jack losing the battle. His eyes were dulling quickly and Jamie could hear the increasing effort it took to draw air into his lungs. If it wasn't ice, Jack was done for, but if it was, there was still a chance to speed up the heating process.

It was time to just fuck it. Throw all caution to the wind and put everything he had into this. He could not lose Jack.

"I'm going to be right back, just don't stop breathing. Don't give up!" Jamie sprang to his feet and ran to the kitchen. As fast as he could he ripped the faucet handle sky ward and all the way to the right. The water was quickly becoming steaming hot. Jamie grabbed the nearest towel in site and soaked it in the water, wringing it out haphazardly. He nearly burned his hand in the process, but he was back by Jack's side before he had the chance to notice.

Jack was failing. There was just too much lack of oxygen. His mind was becoming sluggish. The pain was beginning to numb as he started to lose feeling in his body. Though it was a relief, it was clearly not a good sign. Jack heard Jamie speaking but he could not focus on his words.

"Jack, keep breathing," Jamie shouted at the winter guardian. He took the heated wet rag and placed it over Jack's mouth and nose as his body continued to automatically attempt to draw breath. Jamie knew he was cutting off route of even more oxygen but perhaps with some slim chance of hope the steamy water vapor of the clothe would soak into Jack's lung and reach the clot before it was too late.

Two breaths on, two breaths off, Jamie counted, pulling away to try and give Jack time to get fresh air in between the improvised vapor treatment. Jamie couldn't tell if it was working but he continued despite the fact. His eyes were beginning to well visibly. Not only was Jack not getting better, but Jamie could see plainly on Jack's face that the hot rag was painful.

Suddenly, and not soon enough for Jamie, Jack coughed raggedly. The breaths following it were deeper and clearly more effective. Jamie immediately stopped with the rag, letting Jack really breath for the first time in those few frantic minutes.

Jack continued to gasp but color began to flood his face again, the blue tinge progressively leaving his lips.

Jamie had been right. Jack had made it through. The stress, fear, and relief washed over him simultaneously.

Unashamed, He began to cry.


End file.
